Why might the author have included the detail about Father Paul picking up the magazine? It illustrates the constant conflict Father Paul faces in trying to communicate with Leon. It establishes Father Paul as a well-read intellectual. It suggests that similar missionary work was causing conflict in other places as well. It shows that he was trying to remind himself that he did not agree with the people’s beliefs.

It suggests that similar missionary work was causing conflict in other places as well.

Explanation:

In The Man To Send Rain by Marmon Silko, story is told about the beliefs of native American Indians and their conflict with the Christian belief.

Leon discovers his grandfather's body in the field, he wants to bury him according to the Indian customs but his wife Louise is of the opinion that the Catholic priest should be told so he can give him a befitting burial.

Father Paul believes the tradition of Pueblo rituals is pagan and as such, he cannot use the holy water in such a pagan ceremony.

In the process, Father Paul picks up a missionary magazine which suggests that there is other missionary work which are ongoing in other parts and facing opposition by the natives.